A record €135m price tag has been placed on this south Dublin apartment block

A SITE CONTAINING 274 apartments in south Dublin has just gone on the market for a guide price of €135 million.

The Grange development has been brought to market by Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank. If the site is sold for the guide price, it will be the most expensive residential property deal in Dublin history.

Fronting onto the Stillorgan Road/N11 and Brewery Road, the site for sale has the potential for an additional 263 units subject to planning permission and building works.

The price attached to the completed apartments is set at €105 million, an average price of €383,200 per unit, while the adjacent development site will cost €30 million.

The development contains a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and is located a short drive from Dublin city centre, Ballsbridge, Ranelagh and Donnybrook. It is also close to Sandyford Luas stop.

The agents noted that strong demand is anticipated from both local and international private rental sector investors.

Interest is also expected from large international developers due to the prospect for adding more housing units to the site and the “limited opportunities available to acquire standing stock and prime development land” in Dublin.

Investec economist Philip O’Sullivan also agreed that the process to acquire the site is “likely to be very keenly contested”.

A number of big residential property firms have begun to ramp up their investment in Ireland’s property sector in recent years.

Last month Glenveagh Properties spent roughly €100 million on land for new houses in Dublin and Meath, while last year Cairn homes went public on the Irish Stock Exchange to raise funds to invest in Ireland’s property market.

The Grange

The first batch of apartments in The Grange were completed in 2005. Currently, there are 506 completed apartments across nine blocks on the Stillorgan site.

Some 174 of the apartments part of this sale are located in two blocks that were only recently completed. The additional 100 apartments part of the deal are spread throughout seven other blocks in the development.

A number of common areas, including a central grassed courtyard and playground are located on the site. A 24-hour concierge service, which provides maintenance and housekeeping needs, is also available to residents.

Rent pressure

According to Daft.ie’s latest quarterly rental report, the average rent in Dublin is now 26% higher than the previous peak in 2008.

The average rent in south Dublin city and south Dublin county was almost €2,000 at the end of 2017, Daft.ie said.

“In some segments of Dublin, rents have now doubled since 2010,” the report’s author Ronan Lyons said.

Written by Sean Murray and posted on TheJournal.ie. Additional reporting by Killian Woods.

Note: Fora publisher Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Daft.ie publisher Distilled Media Group.